George wrote:

Why? Have you checked for heat after sawing?

Are you following the manufacturer's suggestions on blade tension?


Just curious. Never have lost a weld on mine, and I've been running
ceramic
guides for six or so and thrust bearings for a couple of years on my
saw.


Reply

Honestly, I didn't check for heat. How much heat would it take?
When I think of
steel failing because of heat, I think, red hot. How hot would it be?
Like an iron?
I picked up the broken ends right away, didn't notice anything out of
the ordinary.
One thing I have noticed about these "premium" blades though is a grind
mark at
the weld. On the other hand, on the cheaper blades such as Craftsman
there is
just a heat discoloration there and the blade is smooth. However I've
only gotten
Craftsman blades for a 14" saw, and the Timberwolf blades for an 18".
As far as tension goes, with my Dayton 18" it's strictly by feel. A
small adjusting
wheel is all you get. On the phone they said the Timberwolf blades
were designed
to work with minimum tension (just beyond the point where the blade
would flutter,
as they describe it) They also said it was important to relieve the
tension on the
blade when not in use. I have to say that much of this sound a little
absurd to me,
almost as if they're asking you to compensate for the inferiority of
their product.
I can't imagine them releasing the tension every evening on the 36"
bandsaw at the
mill shop I go to, and they never have any problems. I'm going to
place an order
where the shop gets blades, Bull Sharpening in Oak Park, IL. If those
fail, I'll look
for something that may be wrong with the bandsaw or my installation and

maintenance habits. After all, my saw was purchased for 200.00 and had
to be
modified for wood cutting. I had to remove a gearbox and direct-drive
the 1475 rpm
motor for cutting wood (with a reduction pulley of course) But maybe
it's still
running too fast! Have to look into it.